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North Manitou: My first real hang

A friend and I went to North Manitou this past week. The forecast said rain just about every day, so I decided that although I am trying to be more lightweight this was not the trip to start. I packed an extra big blue Walmart tarp to store our gear. I also packed more clothes than usual because I can not handle wet. I was glad that I did this because it rained a good thunder storm Sunday night from about 2 AM until 12 noon the next day. Here is a picture of our camp. After the rain we went for a day hike and enjoyed some great views of Lake Michigan. None of my pictures from that day turned out because it was to overcast. We came back to our camp and hung out and had supper. The weather was nice, but very overcast. The next day we went for another day hike to Stormer Camp and looked at all the old cars. It was really neat. On our way back my friend started complaining about how long a hike it was being and how much longer would it be? I told her it was a three mile hike and left it at that. When we got to the village area we rested and had about a mile or so back to our camp site. She then dropped a bombshell on me and announced she was going home the next day and she had already texted a friend who was going to pick her up.... So now I had a choice to make. Do I go home on Wednesday three days early? Or do I stay there by myself? I have never been on a solo hike before, because my husband and my mom don't think its a good idea. I respect this, although I don't agree with it, I need outside and sometimes nobody can do big trips.... but I digress... I decided to call my husband and see what he thought. He wasn't excited about the idea of me being alone, but since he knew how important this trip was to me, he left it up to me. I decided to compromise and come home on Thursday. He had Friday off of work and would worry all day about me. So Wednesday I packed up with my friend and headed North on the Island for my first over night trip alone I hiked about a mile or so on this little unmaintained trail, before deciding to stop and set up my camp. I would have went further, but there was tons of logs and my pack was really heavy....I just pictured my self spraining an ankle or worse and hearing "I told you so" After setting up my camp I headed further down the trail loosing the trail at times, and climbing over numerous logs. I knew I had made the right choice. I saw an eagle. I didn't get a good picture of him though. But I did get this picture of a great view of Lake Michigan I eventually ended up loosing my trail all together and went down to the beach where I ate my lunch and hiked back on the beach. I arrived back at my camp read my book for a while, and then had my supper. I was hoping for some good stargazing but it was still to overcast. I went to sleep and woke up to this most spectacular sunrise I raced down to the beach to get some better pictures After watching the sun rise I packed up my camp and headed to the village dock to wait for my ferry. It was a good trip, and although it was disappointing being cut short I got to do a solo trip, and proved I can stay safe so maybe more are in my future.... We will have to wait and see. And I loved not having a tent and didn't miss it at all!

Sounds like a great trip despite the rain although I do love a good rain on the tarp while sleeping. That bites your friend bailed on you. I treasure solo hikes though. I can't wait to make it to Manitou. It's been on my short list for awhile. Thanks for the report. Stoked you finally got to do a hang!

"He who makes a beast of himself, gets rid of the pain of being a man." Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

Good for you adventuregirl! Bummer your friend jumped ship in mid trip, but way to stick it out and challenge yourself. Looks like that could have been a game changer for you, so it worked out. Thanks for the report.

Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace without end to you.
adapted from - ancient gaelic runes

Congrats on making the trip and reporting back to all of us. I recall your concern with leaving that tent behind. Glad to hear it worked out well for you, although a little shorter than expected. I will be making that trip next month. Good luck on your next adventure...Bush

Yay! Solo!
I did my first solo overnight a month ago or so. It is a different kind of fun from a crowd! Could you post a link to your photobucket album? I can't see the pictures in the original post (although I'm using a tablet with Android so that may be why).